Kiwi police officers are moving to Queensland in droves, as the Australian state tempts them with AU$20,000 relocation bonuses and a huge pay rise.
Queensland Police added another 51 recruits to their frontline on Thursday, after each of them completed an 18-week competency education programme.
The 51 new constables is a "record-breaking" number, said Queensland Police. About half of them were Kiwi cops.
The shortened course they completed takes into account their previous experience in law enforcement, and further builds on it.
All graduates will be compensated in their salary, plus a $20,000 incentive to move to Queensland.
One of the new Kiwi-Queensland officers, Dion Nelson-Screen, spent five years with New Zealand Police.
The programme "really prepared us for what it takes to work on the frontline in Queensland, and I'm really looking forward to helping Queensland communities across the State", he said.
Nelson-Screen said he always dreamt of a life in sunny Queensland, and the $20,000 bonus was the push he needed.
"Living in such a sunny environment while working in the profession I've loved for the last five years is really exciting, the increase in pay is an added bonus."
Queensland Police is paying graduates of its abridged programme up to AU$130,000 annually in their first year as a constable (about NZ$140,000).
Apparently, it's led to a rush of foreign and interstate police applying to work in Queensland - from France, Scotland, South Africa, the UK, and others.
There are 625 new recruits in training, while more than 580 people have applied for the abridged 18-week programme.
There are nearly 2300 in Queensland's recruitment pipeline overall.
"Our recruitment pipeline is the strongest we've seen in some time," said Queensland Superintendent Renee Kurtz.
She said some bring decades of experience in the force.
"This profound level of skill and practical knowledge in policing will be extremely beneficial to the Queensland frontline."
